It was one of the crowning symbols of Anderston's post-war regeneration, and has gone on to become a much-admired architectural landmark of the area.
But until now, images of modernist community hub the Pyramid at Anderston's early years in the late 1960s have been rather thin on the ground.
Next weekend, that's all set to change. The B-listed former church building will host a free exhibition of recently-discovered archive images covering the era of its construction as part of the Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival.
READ MORE: Unearthed Glasgow photos show Gorbals doctor who wrote of slum conditions in 1920s
Kate Drummond, event organiser and Community Builder at the Pyramid at Anderston, says the fascinating colour pictures were unearthed during a clear-out of the basement following the building's conversion to a community centre.
Speaking with Glasgow Live, Kate says there are a range of images showing both the construction of the Pyramid, which was completed in 1968, and the wider urban renewal of Anderston, including the development of the M8 Motorway, which famously split the district from the city centre.
Kate commented: “We were clearing out this room that once belong the Boys’ Brigade club and it was full of masses and masses of stuff.
“Among all of this were these boxes of slides and some of them are really incredible. They show activities in the building, but also the people and the changing landscape in Anderston.
“Some of the flats that are pictured are still here, but here we can see them being built. They also show the construction of the M8 and how it kind of cut through the landscape between the city centre and Anderston.
“I’m hoping that by putting them up that they will generate a lot of local interest. I think there will be a lot of people who will recognise some of the faces in the photographs.”
The old Anderston was largely swept away in the 1960s, with much of the community displaced as multi-storey flats and other concrete clad structures took the place of stone-built tenements and other public buildings.
The Pyramid at Anderston originally opened as the Anderston Parish Church, replacing a number of existing churches in the area.
Sign up to our Glasgow Live nostalgia newsletters for more local history and heritage content straight to your inbox
In one of the newly-found photos, the skeleton of the pyramid has just been completed, and there's a removal van in the foreground. Two churches - both since knocked down - are also visible.
It's a picture that certainly tells a story, and when it came to deciding which photo would lead the exhibition, it was the obvious choice.
Kate Drummond said: “It’s a very special image. The removal van is very poignant as a lot of people had obviously moved out.
“Both the churches that are pictured got knocked down. There were three local churches replaced by the Pyramid.
“For the exhibition we’ll be putting up post-it notes to encourage people to leave feedback. We don’t have lots of records about the building, so this will help us build a clearer picture of both the building and the people living in Anderston at that time.”
In 1978, the building became the Anderston Kelvingrove Parish Church following amalgamation with Kelvingrove Church.
The Pyramid continued as a church until 2019, when, following further redevelopment in the area and a significant decline in the congregation, the Church of Scotland sold the building. It has since been given a new lease of life as a thriving community space, the Pyramid at Anderston.
The free exhibition of rare images will take place during the Glasgow Doors Open Days Festival, on September 16, 17 and 18. Doors open between 12 noon and 4pm.
Further details can be found here.
READ MORE:
Unearthed Glasgow photos show Gorbals doctor who wrote of slum conditions in 1920s
Eight former Glasgow Woolies stores and what's there now
Forgotten railway burger chain tucked away in Glasgow's stations in the 1980s
Ex-British Rail worker shares amazing 1980s images of Glasgow's railway stations
New BBC series to shed fresh light on Glasgow's Ice Cream Wars of the 1980s
